Seattle Refined - Black Magic Sweets is delicious alchemy in pop-up form

December 04, 2021

by Lauren Allain

The beautiful and perfect sandwiched macaron with its delicately ruffled foot can often look too pretty to completely devour in two bites — a conundrum that only becomes more intense when savoring a macaron from Black Magic Sweets.

Aliyah Davis is the baker and owner of this pop-up bakery producing incredibly delicious macarons (that are exceptionally stunning since she hand paints each and every one). Davis grew up baking with her grandfather, which sparked her interest in making sweet treats. She's also always been drawn to painting and sketching. Combining these two passions, Davis created Black Magic Sweets in 2018 after graduating from the Seattle Culinary Academy.

"Black Magic Sweets is an experimental pop-up bakery because I'm always doing something new," she said. "Not just macarons, but I'm doing cream puffs and rolling stuff out. It's a combination of amazing flavors."

Always sticking to seasonal flavors, Black Magic Sweets is currently treating us to fall and winter delights. Macaron flavors include salted caramel, pumpkin chai, chocolate bourbon, caramel macchiato and roasted hazelnut, to name a handful. The cream puffs come in strawberry Bavarian, caramel espresso, campfire s'mores and chocolate mousse.

Davis said her flavor combinations are second nature now, and inspiration comes from seasonal ingredients as well as her home bartending experiments.

"I very much go off of the seasons," she said. "Quite often in the summer, I go boozy, and in the winter, I do homey things that make you think about holidays with your parents and all the warm fuzzy feelings."

Black Magic Sweets often works with other women-owned local businesses. The coffee-infused macarons and cream puffs come from Seattle-based Jocelyn Coffee Roasting coffee beans. Davis' macarons are also known to feature tea flavors which she sources from Friday Afternoon in Wallingford.

[More: Woman-Owned Businesses & Restaurants in Seattle You Can Support Right Now]

Black Magic Sweets' menu also often features seasonal pies — like last summer's spiced peach crumble or the latest addition of the chocolate decadence pie. Davis began baking with her grandfather in Pennsylvania when she was young.

"We were big pie people," she said. "The man loves a custard pie. Key lime pie was his favorite thing, along with lemon meringue and ice cream. He had this huge, old school, medieval-looking ice cream machine we would pop out when I would visit him in the summer."

Davis often has key lime pie on the menu at Black Magic Sweets, along with coconut cream and citrus meringue, all with perfectly toasted peaks of fluffy meringue.

One of the distinguishing elements of Black Magic Sweets is the hand paintings atop each macaron. Davis said she's always loved to paint and sketch, so adding this element to her baking made perfect sense. From seasonal jack-o'-lanterns to adorable pandas and intricate fall foliage scenes, Davis' treats shine by showcasing her artistic talent alongside her ability to create magical flavors.

"Food is alchemy," Davis said. "So 'Black Magic' is just another term for alchemy. It's the magic of flavor combinations using natural ingredients."

In the future, Black Magic Sweets is looking to incorporate more gluten-free and vegan options on the menu as well as offer a subscription service. Hand-painted sweet treats are certainly a magic delivery every Seattle-ite should get in on.

Black Magic Sweets takes part in several Seattle-area pop-ups and can also be found at Friday Afternoon Tea, Coffee and Cone, Makeda and Mingus, Local Yokels, Kaffa Coffee house and Wine Bar and Communion Restaurant and Bar. Check out the Black Magic Sweets' website to pre-order online, see the current menu and which locations are carrying which baked treats.